Set in the Southern Song dynasty five years after Yue Fei was tragically murdered by Qin Hui, the movie ‘Full River Red’ illustrates its plot about two hours before dawn of the night general Qin Hui is expected to meet the Jin delegates at the border. It has been discovered that one of many diplomats employed by the Jin Dynasty, has been assassinated in the same courtyard where general Qin Hui and his soldiers are stationed. Qin Hui now turns and instructs his deputy commander, Sun Jun, to go out and arrest the suspects of the murder, one of whom includes Zhang Da, a recruited soldier who was on night duty. With Zhang Da remaining adamant about his innocence, Qin Hui orders both him and Sun Jun to track down the assassin and find a highly confidential document that the diplomat was allegedly carrying. Now, while on their quest to find the assassin a shocking twist occurs, Zhang Da and Sun Jun, along with the rest of the team uncover a plot more complex than anticipated, an investigation where all parties involved, even the prime minister’s general manager He Li and vice general manager Wu Yichun are all not above suspicion.
If you think “Full River Red” will be like “The House of Flying Daggers” or “Shadow‘, you will most likely be disappointed. Stereotypically, Zhang Yimou has always been a filmmaker to indulge in action sequences, however, there is a chance ‘Full River Red’ might shift his genre focus as the movie has an overload of humor and drama telling a story of murder from the Song dynasty while slowly revealing political drama and intrigue evolving into real-time chess matches. Naturally, everyone loves action, and there are a good number of murders and bloody deaths, however they only appear towards the end of the movie unlike the expected early appearance.
Working together with ten different historians, Jiang created a plot revolving around Mishi and Zhang Daoling. Having a well-thought out plot shift complemented with political inquisitiveness not only depicts the versatility of the director but also deepens the storyline of Jiang and Mishi. As if perfect timing wasn’t enough, Jiang, Daoling and Zhang managed to pull off the perfect lines changing the entire plot’s projected image. The trio are able to portray three distinctly different characters across a myriad of genres ensuring that the audience is constantly kept on their toes while also addressing characters that are truly multi-dimensional. Without giving much away, with the subtree pulling rock solid plotlines, the movie became a cinematic masterpiece that portrays Jiang and Mishi spectacularly.
What sets the story apart from other lengthy films, as it is a 159 minute long film, is the incorporation of dark humor which allows the plot to constantly employ plot twists, never leaving the viewer with a sense of stagnation. Even though it does introduce a host of focal characters, the writers achieve such excellent character development that it does not take long for the viewer to adjust or feel distracted.
Zhang Da and Sun Jun have the most screen time, and in particular, Shen Teng, who plays Zhang Da, displays an impressive acting range. He progressed through as well as portraying an array of emotions as his character. There’s no difference here Jackson Yee taking Sun Jun, Acting along with Shen Teng, gives me earnest growth and maturity with each well synchronized joint role. And Katherine, oh Katherine, she’s never let me down. Leaning further into Davidson’s psychopathy was a great touch, and all at once, Yi Zhang and Yunpeng joined in to incorporate the comedic relief we all needed with Yi Zhang’d performance. Can’t argue that Wang Jiayi being a dancer added her name to Zhang Yimou’s ensemble of rising stars who debuted amongst his works. But then again, it’s difficult to gauge her future, and this performance of hers does leave a lingering taste of wonder.
As we all have grown accustomed to when it comes to Zhang’s historical films, this is no different, it is as well visually alluring.
Taking into account the film’s setting, Zhao Xiaoding who has worked on the film for a long uses day for night technique while shooting but his technique on using blue colors to portray the time closer to the dawn works quite well and is believable, the same goes for his use of red when blood and cherries, which are essential in the plot comes into the scene, they create an absolutely breathtaking picture. Zhao makes use of the confined spaces effectively because the entire story is restricted to within the room where the soldiers are kept. The montage of many characters speaking at once as often happens fills the screen well. Walking through narrow passages is particularly interesting, and that’s what the montage emphasizes.
However, the real highlight in this mix is Han Hong’s music, which is integrated into those scenes of the passage in the most ingenious way with a modern rap form combined with classical Chinese opera singing alongside the use of classical instruments all accompanying someone walking, rushing or running through corridors. As well as Incorporating in the soundtrack more traditional Chinese instruments, that plays the supporting details to the action in the plot, and especially when there are changes in the plot cutting the tension.
At the age of 71, working in a political setting which as an artist does not seem to be very friendly towards him, Yimou Zhang continues to impress with his notable works in an impressively surrealistic manner, irrespective of his chosen genre. He once again proves that he has not lost touch or bite with this tale of Full Only this time, the story is a riveting and full of overlapping conspiratorial mysteries. This sure fire replaces his last known work, the stunning, The Great Wall, and magnificently extends what can possibly be referred to as the ideal viewing experience, big screens followed by loud sounds. Undoubtedly, this will be one film that will be on many end year lists of Best Of.
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